Never Say Never
by o-o-o-VampirianWolfGirl-o-o-o
Summary: After losing the tournament, Mike joins the cage fighting underworld. One day Mr. Miyagi finds Mike in an alley, half beaten to death, and takes him home to live with him and Daniel. Neither boy is happy with the arrangement...yet. SLASH: Mike x Daniel
1. The Underworld

**Hello fellow Karate Kid readers. I've been a Karate Kid fan for years, and I recently re-watched them all to get me ready for the new Karate Kid movie with Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan. I especially hadn't seen Karate Kid 3 for a long time, so it was like watching it for the first time again. And now I must say, because I'm a HUGE slash fan and see it everywhere and because Mike is GORGEOUS!, I liked the idea of Mike and Daniel SLASH. Sadly I found NONE on this site -_- so I thought, 'Meh, what the hell? I will do it myself.' I hope you all like it. :D **

**Title: Never Say Never**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Karate Kid and I do not own the title, which was inspired by Justin Bieber's song 'Never Say Never' for the 2010 Karate Kid movie. **

**Warning: This is SLASH, don't read it and then review it giving me shit that you don't like the fact that I made these boys homosexual, GET OVER IT, you shouldn't have clicked onto the story then, because the summary mentions SLASH in it. Also, there will be swearing throughout the story, mostly from Mike because we ALL know that's what he is like. :D **

**Summary: After losing the tournament to Daniel, Mike joins the cage fighting underworld to make ends meet. One day he is beaten half to death and left in an alley to die. Luckily, Mr. Miyagi finds Mike and takes him home to live with him and Daniel. Neither boy is happy with the arrangement... yet. SLASH: MikexDaniel (Because we ALL know that Mike would top Daniel) XD**

**Chapter One:**_** The Underworld**_

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_**Mike's POV - **_

I swung my leg around, kicking the area behind the knees of my opponents' legs, knocking him onto the ground. I then brought my knee up, slamming it into his nose, feeling it break from the impact, that sudden, satisfactory, _crunch_. My opponent, who called himself 'Demon', was on his knees, face covered in blood from the broken nose I had given him, plus from the other cuts my fist had created on his skin.

Pfft, _Demon_. _"Demon..."_ I said, with slight amusement, as I prepared to land the punch that would win me this round. He looked up at me, hate lingering in his eyes at the fact that he couldn't beat a kid half his age.

"_...don't name yourself something that you can't live up to."_ I said, before slamming my fist into his jaw, the impact rendering him unconscious as soon as he hit the ground.

I should have done this years ago, cage fighting. It was something that I liked straight away. There were no stupid rules for hitting, (except for the groin area being off limits, which was fair enough) unlike karate, where you have to remember over a hundred rules in order to fight with honour. Fuck honour.

The crowd cheered as I had won again. I was becoming a steady favourite amongst them. The mystery boy who was stronger than he looked, the 'Cobra'.

The host came up to me and picked up my hand. He held it into the air as the crowd cheered harder. _"Cobra, Cobra!"_ They were all shouting.

Even though my deal with Silver never happened, I used the Cobra name as my stage name. It suited me. I was like a Cobra. I was lean, not too muscled, but I strike with a deadly ferocity. I was stronger than I looked. Just like a Cobra.

The winnings I got were also worth it. I felt particularly satisfied at the fact that a large percentage of my pay came from the losers who bet _against_ me. That showed them, the bastards.

It was great here, in the gambling and fighting underworld. Better than where I was before, back at home. I couldn't go back after the fucking humiliation Silver and Kreese put me through. LaRusso's sensei had taught him shit that I was never shown. If we were on the same level, I would have beaten the little fucker.

I kept thinking about all of this, one by one these thoughts going through my mind, especially the fight against 'Demon', which was my proudest moment as he was by far my biggest opponent.

I kept thinking about these things, the tournament, Kreese, Silver, LaRusso, because if things had worked out differently in all four of those aspects of my life, I wouldn't be in this position now, two hours after fighting 'Demon'.

I guess this is what it feels like to lose in the real world, this thought crossed my mind, playing a dark reminder to the fact that I was not going to survive this. Five much older men were holding my arms and legs, while another was punching the daylights out of me. They were doing this while their boss, who was dressed in incredibly expensive looking clothes, was smoking a cigar and watching in satisfaction.

They had pulled me into this alley, after I had left the abandoned factory where the cage fighting tournaments were held. I was planning on spending my winnings, going out, having a good time, maybe even taking a girl back to my apartment for the night.

That was when they had jumped me, covering my mouth so I wouldn't call for help. It took six of them, six bigger and stronger men to hold me down; a kid no older than 19, who was a black belt in karate. At least I could die with that type of proud thought in my head.

Maybe it was my fault, I should have said yes to them, but it has been said that I'm a cocky, obnoxious and arrogant prick. I'm proud to say that those descriptions fit me quite well. There are a lot of things I would do for money, but losing is not one of them. I will never submit or bow down, or show weakness to anybody, I'd rather die.

Which was why, two hours after my fight against 'Demon', _I_ was being held between these five guys, _my_ face bleeding, _my_ face cut up, _my_ body reeking in pain. The bastards were hitting me to cause maximum damage, my eyes were okay, they hadn't punched me there, but they were aiming for my stomach, my kidneys and my lungs.

"_Stop."_ The boss had said, after the guy punching me had landed a handful of blows to my chest. A few more punches and he would have broken my ribs, which knowing my luck, would have pierced my lungs.

I looked up at the boss. He didn't look happy, probably because I hadn't screamed or let out a single groan of pain. He won't be getting one either. Where I grew up, you fight more than enough times to have learnt how a fighter is meant to die. You die with dignity, you die with pride, you don't die begging for mercy or crying out in pain.

I had learnt this from a young age, so there was no way the bastard was going to get the satisfaction of hearing me scream or seeing me scared. I had already faced someone more evil than him anyway, a long time ago, so he didn't even scare me.

The boss walked up to me, taking his cigar out of his mouth, I knew what was coming next, I was prepared for it. He lifted his cigar to an open wound on my stomach and placed it right on top of it, butting it out on my skin.

He looked surprised when I smirked with pride at the fact that I still contained myself and didn't cry out, even though it had felt like a hot iron rod was pressing into my skin.

"_You're a fool. This would have been all unnecessary if you would have just agreed to my terms." _He said, as he slowly turned the cigar clockwise, into my skin.

"_I will never lose a fight purposely, for money."_ I said through gritted teeth which were clenched shut from both anger and pain.

His nostrils flared in anger at my words, he then composed himself. He thankfully dropped the cigarette from my chest, letting it fall into the dirt. He stepped back and nodded to the man beside him (the one who had used me as a human punching bag) before turning around and walking away. The man nodded back and then stood in front of me. He brought his fist right back, preparing himself to make the final blow. I didn't close my eyes, I stared him down.

_Die with pride_.

"_Any final words, bitch?"_ The man asked me.

"_Fuck you."_ I answered back, managing to glare at him through the pain.

The guy punched me, hard, dislocating my jaw, the impact sending me to the ground, where my head hit the brick wall that made up the alley.

Then they left me. Figures, if you want someone to die painfully, you prolong their death as much as you can. They were leaving me here to bleed to death. They gave me the painful way out, instead of relieving me of their physical torture that now dominated all feeling in my body.

I was lying in the foetal position, before I felt my breathing become uncomfortable. I lifted my head and coughed up blood. Fuck, my stomach must be worse off than it feels. I adjusted myself so I could lie on my back, facing the night sky. I could see the stars. At least, after everything, I could die alone, _peacefully_.

I started seeing things, my family, my old friends, my life, the tournament, my cage fighting battles, _everything_. It was then that I knew I was almost gone.

I then felt someone lightly slapping my face. I opened my eyes, even though it was so hard to do so, I didn't even remember closing them. I had almost slipped away. Until someone's slapping (who ever this idiot was) had pulled me back. How annoying, it was peaceful moments before...

"_S-stop..."_ I stuttered out, too weak to speak, let alone move my mouth to speak in the first place. I couldn't keep my eyes open for more than a few seconds, so I kept them shut, it didn't matter who it was now anyway, I was done for.

"_You come with Miyagi."_ The voice said.

Miyagi? Why did that sound familiar...something about a tournament, or was he a teacher I knew from somewhere? Shouldn't he have a kid with him? Some Italian kid? Or karate? Was he from karate? I couldn't remember...where was I? Why was I lying down?

"_Up..."_ The voice said, before I felt his arms under my knees and behind my back. I felt myself being lifted from the ground...why was I on the ground again? Something about a gang beating me I think...I don't remember...it doesn't matter...I just want to sleep...

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**What do you guys think so far? Please review! :)**


	2. Proud Submission

**Hello lovelies! Hope you're all well! This is probably the quickest update I have done for any story ever! But 'Sick Twisted Mind' inspired me to write faster! I'm a fan of hers, and she's reading **_**my**_ **stories! Thanks for liking this babe! **

'**Billy Bob Joe is not my name' – Thanks for the review! Seriously, you had me blushing like an idiot! I'm glad I got Mike in character! Let me know how I went in this one. Hope you like this chapter!**

**Cheers for the reviews everyone! Hope you like chapter two! **

**Chapter Two: **_**Proud Submission**_

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_**Daniel's POV – **_

"_Daniel-san." _

I heard my name being called. I stopped clipping the leaves of the bonsai tree I was preparing as a decoration for my room, placing the garden scissors on my desktop as I stood.

"_Mr. Miyagi?"_ I questioned, frowning, was his voice coming from the garden? I stood up and walked towards my door, as soon as I opened it I came across a sight which was the very last thing I had expected to see.

The shithead that had been bullying me a few months back into competing in the All-Valley Tournament, the one who worked for that crook Terry Silver, the one who dangled me over a cliff, broke Mr. Miyagi's bonsai and the one I had beaten at the tournament was unconscious, bruised, beaten and covered in blood.

He was being held up by Mr. Miyagi who looked like he was starting to struggle. Mr. Miyagi couldn't even carry me properly and he was trying to carry this guy? Mike Barnes who was six feet tall of muscle?

"_Daniel-san, come help."_ Mr. Miyagi said, as he walked towards the new guest room that we both built after the tournament.

I shook my head, clearing my bemused thoughts and then ran up to the guest room, reaching it in time to open it for Mr. Miyagi. I turned around and placed my arms under Mike's legs, while Mr. Miyagi was placing most of his strength on carrying Mike's torso.

Together we were able to carry Mike to his bed without dropping him. Once we laid him down, I was able to have a proper look at him. I couldn't believe my eyes, and this is coming from someone who has had a fair few beatings since coming to this place.

Mike's face was covered in cuts and bruises, his nose was bleeding, his neck had finger marks which must mean that he got strangled a few times. As my eyes travelled down his abdomen, to which his shirt was ripped open, the damage did not get any better.

His ribs were a hideous colour of purple and blue, one rib was shaped in an odd way, and there was a circular-shaped open wound which was bleeding and looked burnt around the edges. What the hell?

I lifted my hand towards Mike's chest to point it out to Mr. Miyagi. He just grabbed my hand, immediately halting my movements. I looked up at him.

"_Cigar burn, Daniel-san."_ He said, before nodding his head towards the door as an indication to follow him.

"_But, Mr. Miyagi, how-...?"_

"_Daniel-san."_ Mr. Miyagi said in a tone that meant 'not now' before he walked out of the room. I turned around to look at Mike again, before I followed closely behind.

We came back into the guest room five minutes later with tea, bandages and a Japanese liquid remedy. By the smell of it, it was the same remedy that Mr. Miyagi used on me when Johnny and his gang beat me up on Halloween.

"_Daniel-san, you wipe bruises."_ Mr. Miyagi said, as he dipped a rag into the remedy and handed it to me.

I took it without question and began wiping all the bruises on Mike's face that I could see, while Mr. Miyagi attended to the cigar burn. We worked in silence.

I studied Mike's face while I worked, taking in all the _damage_. Man, whoever did this was intending to kill him. I sort of felt sorry for him, even if he was a jerk. As I wiped over Mike's skin, I couldn't believe how solid this guy was. He was more muscular than he looked; it was like running your hands over a brick wall.

How did I manage to beat this guy? It's hard to believe that it takes more than strength to beat someone at Karate. I would have laughed if someone had told me that over a year ago. But I was living proof of that. Every opponent I've faced has always been bigger and stronger than me.

It's not the strength, but the _skill_. It all depends on what you have learnt and how you plan on executing it. That is what Mr. Miyagi has taught me. _That_ is what Karate is about. At least that way, it guarantees that anyone can fight, no matter who you are. Karate does not _discriminate_.

Half an hour later, Mike was in the best condition we could get him in. He was cleaned from all the blood, his bruises had been wiped, and Mr. Miyagi had tended to that cigar burn. Though no matter how good of a medic Mr. Miyagi was, Mike will still have the scars.

Lucky for him though, or maybe unlucky, the punks who did this to him didn't break any ribs; otherwise he would have been dead from a pierced lung. Mr. Miyagi would not have gotten him to the hospital in time. They probably didn't break his ribs because they wanted him to die slowly...that's harsh...I can't believe how messed up some people can be, to be able to bash a guy and then think, 'you know what, I won't hit any vital organs, just so he can die slowly'.

Mr. Miyagi pulled me from my chain of thoughts when he pressed a bowl into my hands. I looked down; it was the now empty bowl of the remedy we used on Mike's skin. We were done here for now, I guess all we could do was wait until he woke up.

I followed Mr. Miyagi out, but not before stopping to look back at Mike, I wonder where he will go now? Where would he stay? Not like I cared what happened to him. It just sucked not knowing your own fate. Where do you go from there? After being attacked like Mike has?

I turned off the light and closed the door shut behind me, following Mr. Miyagi into the kitchen. I was cleaning the remedy bowl along with the few other dishes that were left in the sink when Mr. Miyagi started to speak.

"_You very quiet, Daniel-san, normally you ask a lot of questions."_ Mr. Miyagi stated, while he was preparing some tea, which he normally did before meditating.

He had me there.

"_I know Mr. Miyagi. It's just... I don't know..."_ I couldn't word what I was feeling because I didn't _know _what I was feeling at the moment.

"_It's very upsetting seeing boy like that, even if he is enemy?" _Mr. Miyagi asked, guessing my thoughts, to which he was spot on.

"_Yeah, exactly! It's just weird. He doesn't seem like the type of guy to let this happen to him. What went wrong?"_ I pondered, it was a rhetorical question, but Mr. Miyagi answered any way.

"_He lost tournament." _

Those words made me freeze. I stopped what I was doing and turned around to face Mr. Miyagi, listening to him.

"_When you have nowhere to go, Daniel-san, or no one to go to, you sometimes do bad things." _

"_What? What was he doing, Mr. Miyagi?" _What 'bad things' was this guy doing now?

"_Cage fighting."_

"_What?"_

"_Hai." _

I didn't know what to say to _that_. That idiot was pretty reckless if he chose to do that; and proud. He probably had thought he could do with something like that, while avoiding the thugs who were involved in it. Pity, I took him to be smarter, but then again he did get involved with Kreese and Silver, so I guess my judgement was wrong, as usual.

"_Don't say anything, Daniel-san, let him tell you in own time." _Mr. Miyagi said as he sat down to meditate.

In his 'own time'? What?

"_What do you mean, in his 'own time'? He would have to be here a long time before he opens up to anyone, Mr. Miyagi, especially me." _

"_Hai, I know."_ Was all he answered before he closed his eyes and started his meditation.

"_Does that mean he is staying here? Mr. Miyagi?"_ It was useless. I knew I wouldn't get a response from him now for an hour or two.

Great, so _that_ reckless, temperamental, idiotic and violent moron was going to be staying here? Man, I could list at least ten other guys that fit Mike's profile, who I'd prefer stay here than him, heck I'd take Johnny and his gang any day! It seems like my problems never end. I was _not_ okay about this. I _will_ talk to Mr. Miyagi about this sooner or later.

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_**Mike's POV - **_

_I was running down a corridor, I didn't know where I was. I only knew that if I stopped running, he would get me. I had to avoid him. I had to hide. I just had to reach the door at the end of the corridor in time. But, my feet started feeling heavy; the door was becoming further away every second. As my body slowed down to a complete halt, I felt a hand on my shoulder, shit, he got me-_

I woke up in that instant, in a cold sweat. Normally when I woke from those dreams, I would sit up right immediately, as a reflex, but not today. Today my body was the sorest it had been in a long time, and even though I had just woken up, I was exhausted.

Fuck that dream. No matter how many times you try and avoid your past, it always comes back to haunt you, fuck it. And what the hell was that shuffling noise? That's when I froze.

I wasn't in my apartment. Where was I? I was only staring at the ceiling, but just by looking at that alone, I could tell I was in a nice place. I hadn't been in a nice place like this since Silver's house and I knew, with the money I get, I couldn't afford the rent for a room that looked like this; which means, I was here against my will, or had been brought here without my permission.

And why was I sore? I wasn't sore in any places that had me too worried, thank God for that. I was sore in the normal places, the ones I was use to, the ones expected when you fight against someone.

_Any final words, bitch?_

Fuck, now the memories came crawling back. I remember last night. I don't remember much after they knocked me to the ground though, the bastards, I can't believe I allowed myself to be victimised ag- no...never again. _Never _again. It was a promise to myself, one I constantly made after losing like this.

I lifted my arm, barely even finding the energy to be able to do that, and ran my hand along my stomach, feeling the damage. I pressed as gently as I could, feeling the softened muscle and flesh that was under my skin...bruises. I must look fucking ridiculous.

I reached the area that hurt the most, which happened to be bandaged; the bandages wrapping all the way around my waist.

I brushed my hand over the bandages, reaching the middle of my waist, where I could feel a small indentation. What the- fucking hell... the cigar burn. That was going to leave a scar; great, another scar to add to my collection. I hate scars. They are a permanent reminder of your own failure. It makes forgetting something a lot harder. Those assholes marked me and it will never go away.

"_Damn it"_. I muttered under my breath. It seems like the world loves fucking with me.

There's that noise again. I forgot about it. It sounds like someone was walking in and out of the room. Well, that's just creepy.

"_Who's there?"_ I asked out loud, my tone demanding in order to cover up the uncertainty I was feeling. _Who_ had taken me to their house?

"_Kesuke Miyagi." _Said the person I couldn't see. The only thing I could say about him without looking at him was that he was old, and he was Asian. Fuck, if only I could sit up. _"But you call me, Miyagi."_ He continued.

Miyagi?...Oh fuck!

"_Are you serious?"_ I asked, out of all the people, _this_ guy saved me?

"_Hai."_ He answered back.

"_Mr. Miyagi, I think that was a rhetorical question." _Said a much younger voice that I recognised immediately. Fuck my life.

"_Gomen."_

"_Nah, don't apologise, he doesn't deserve it."_

"_Daniel-san." _Said Miyagi's voice in a disapproving tone.

"_Already starting with me, LaRusso?"_ I asked, butting into their conversation. Fuck, fuck, fuck! These are the last two people on the planet I'd rather not see ever again.

I heard footsteps approach my bed, and the next thing I knew, LaRusso's face was hovering over mine.

"_Yep."_ He said, with a smug, overly bright smile. Bastard was patronising me, wasn't he?

Before I could respond, he placed his hands under my arm pits and lifted me to sit upright.

"_Hey, hands off!"_ I responded. I hated being man-handled, I wasn't a child, I was more than capable of lifting myself up.

"_Yeah, don't get excited man, I'm just helping."_

"_Excited? You wish."_ I snapped.

"_Nah man, _you_ wish, I'm not the one who over-compensates..."_

"_Say that to my face!"_ How the _fuck _do I 'over-compensate'?

"_I just did. The only question that is left is, what are you going to do about it?"_ He asked with that smug smile again. I'll kill him.

"_Enough."_ Miyagi commanded, coming to stand in between the bed and LaRusso.

I raised my eyebrow at LaRusso, daring him to challenge his sensei's command. He didn't, he just shook his head, and stepped back. Good, I won this round.

"_You been asleep only one night, not enough. Need rest and eat."_ Miyagi said, as he indicated to a tray of food beside my bed. I hadn't even noticed it.

This had happened to me last night? It felt like it was days ago.

The room suddenly got quiet. Awkward, what was I meant to do now? Miyagi spoke again, answering my thoughts.

"_You stay here, get better, when better I will teach proper karate." _

"_What? No man, I don't need karate lessons, least of all from you."_ The idea almost made me laugh.

"_You use karate in wrong way, when better, I teach." _

"_As soon as I can walk again, I'm out of here. I'm not going to stay to learn about your hippie style of karate."_

"_You have nowhere else to go. Where you go? Back to place where you almost die?"_

It was then I caught a glimpse of LaRusso's face. He had sympathy in his eyes, directed at me. That pissed me off. Sympathy and pity is only given to the _weak_.

"_Don't sympathise with me, LaRusso."_ I snapped, ignoring Miyagi.

"_I'm not man, you probably asked for it."_

"_What did you say?"_ I asked, he doesn't even know what happened to me, the prick.

"_You heard me." _Great now the punk is talking tough.

"_Enough." _Mr. Miyagi said again. Tch, he almost looked amused at our banter, stupid, crazy old man.

"_Look, you have no choice man, if Mr. Miyagi wants you to stay, you have to stay."_ LaRusso, the ever loyal _dog_. Even though he obviously didn't like the idea of me being here.

"_Like you could take me by force, LaRusso." _

"_You're forgetting who beat you in the tournament..."_

...Bastard.

I was about to jump up and attack the smart ass, for his remark (I could move fine now that I was upright) but I was stuck. Miyagi had beaten me, pinning me down to the bed.

"_Don't touch me."_ I told him angrily. I hated being touched without my permission.

"_No fight, you rest." _Miyagi said again, before releasing me. The man was a broken record. 

LaRusso then walked up towards me, standing beside Miyagi. _"Look, you have two choices, you either choose to submit, with pride and without force, or you are forced to submit, without a choice and without dignity. If I were you, I'd choose the first one man. Here, you're outnumbered, in more ways than one." _

"_Oh you are just loving this, aren't you LaRusso?"_ I answered back, thinking his words over. The fucker was right. I had to choose to let them force me to stay with dignity, I had to _allow_ it. It was the only option I had. I was no way going to be forced, so I will stay and put up with these two clowns, for now.

LaRusso smirked,_ "A little, actually. It's fun watching you get taken down from your high horse."_

"_Just wait 'til I get better." _I threatened.

"_Looking forward to it." _

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_**Daniel's POV – **_

As we left the drama queen to wallow in his self-angst, we walked back to the kitchen, as Mr. Miyagi had said he wanted to talk to me about something.

"_Daniel-san. On Friday, will you take Mike-san to his apartment?"_

"_What for?"_

"_His belongings still there."_

"_Oh right, sure. But Mr. Miyagi...will he be able to heal enough in two days to walk?" _

"_Hai."_ He answered, still looking at me expectantly. He knew what was coming so I might as well get it over with.

"_Look, Mr. Miyagi, I know that I supported you in there in front of him, but now that it is just us, does he really have to stay here?"_

"_Boy needs to heal."_

"_Yeah I know, I mean after that? After he can walk again."_

"_Not just body that needs healing, Daniel-san."_ I didn't even need to ask him to rectify that one, I knew what he meant.

"_I know and I want you to help him, but does he have to stay here? I liked it being just you and me, and I don't want to feel...strange every time I come home. This is our home, not his."_

"_Why feel strange?"_

"_I don't know, I don't trust him, not after everything, can you blame me?"_

"_No. Still feel scared?"_

"_No, not since I beat him. But I just don't want him here. He is not a good person."_

"_You two seem to enjoy conversation."_ I had an answer for that.

"_It's fun picking on him."_ Which it was, he is easy to stir up.

"_Daniel-san, anyone can be good person, just need right teacher."_

I sighed, I wasn't going to get through to him, and it's his house after all, _"Fine, look, I'm still not okay about this, Mr. Miyagi, but you do what you have to."_

"_Hai, arigato, Daniel-san. You are my son, its important you not upset."_

"_What if I said that this was upsetting me? Him staying?"_

"_I know you lying, Daniel-san."_

"_How?"_

"_Because you like helping people, Daniel-san. No matter what, you don't want to see boy living on streets. One day you will understand your discomfort, not now."_ Mr. Miyagi said, with an almost knowing twinkle in my eye.

That look made me anxious, because it meant he knew something about me that I didn't know yet and he wouldn't tell me until I figured it out for myself. Mum had always said I was a little dense to the obvious, which means this will take me ages to figure out on my own... Great...

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**Hope you guys liked it! Please review, criticisms, comments, anything! There is always room for improvement! **

**Obrigada! **


	3. Discrepancies

**Hola! Here is chapter three! I'm sorry it took long; my other stories have been hogging my attention. Hope you guys like this and thanks for the reviews!**

**People to thank: **

**Billy Bob Joe is not my name – Cheers for that! One of the reasons this took me ages to update was because Mike is a pain in the ass character to write. But I love his character, which is why I am trying to write as accurately close to him as possible. And don't worry, you will eventually find out about his past and, yes, we cannot rush the good stuff yet! :D**

**Silverfox – Aw thanks! I can't believe no one else had done one yet! Karate Kid 3 has soo much potential for it!**

**Gothic Bianca – Thanks, I'm glad you like it so far, let me know how I went here. :)**

**Sleipnnir28 – I've updated! Ahah hope you like it! Cheers for reviewing!**

**Chapter Three: **_**Discrepancies **_

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_**Daniel's POV - **_

In a way, this was_ my_ fault. That's what I think. If I hadn't beaten this guy, I wouldn't be suffering right now.

"_I mean it LaRusso, back off!"_

I let out a deep breath to calm myself down. I was not patient enough for this. This is what Mr. Miyagi should be doing. Barnes seemed to have more respect for him than me, which was fair enough anyway because I publically beat the prick, so go figure.

It has been a few days since Mr. Miyagi had brought Mike here and we had given the stubborn ass an ultimatum. Stay here by choice or stay here by force. Obviously, he didn't like it and which man would? It would suck having your pride used against you, to serve the 'enemy's' purpose.

According to Mr. Miyagi, Mike needs to be 'healed' for his own good and, according to me, I agree, before we 'release him back into the wild'. I had found myself chuckling at that analogy for a while, until Mr. Miyagi lightly hit me beside the head.

For my own mental stability, after our last interaction, I avoided Mike's room for the past few days. It was easy because he couldn't walk properly meaning he has been bed ridden for a while now. At first Mr. Miyagi didn't care that I was being less than hospitable to our 'guest', but today, for some reason, Miyagi had changed his mind.

So as soon as Mike had woken up, Mr. Miyagi insisted I visit him and take him breakfast. That's when my problems started. You see, the idiot wouldn't accept anything I was giving him, which was making things difficult on me because it was affecting my guilt that he wasn't eating. Though it's not like I give shit to begin with whether he eats or not anyway. He can starve for all I care.

Now, I knew he would eventually eat when he was ready, but it was more fun making him think he had to eat _now_...or so I had thought at first. I didn't think he would be so persistent with his stubbornness. Then again, I had forgotten who I was dealing with. So now because it had escalated so far, I wasn't going to give up until I got my way...

"_Look man, you have to eat something, or you won't get better."_ I said, pushing him. This was really starting to test my temper.

"_Well, I'm not hungry."_

"_I don't believe you." _

Mike shrugged at me, crossed his arms across his chest and formed a smug grin on his face. _"I don't care if you believe me or not. By me saying 'I'm not hungry', I'm politely refusing your hospitality, LaRusso."_

"_You call that, 'politely'?"_ I asked in disbelief.

"_Yes. So don't push me man, you don't want to get on my bad side." _

Oh, please. _"You aren't as badass as you think you are."_

"_How the fuck would you know how badass I can be?"_ Ha! He was so defensive!

"_You are easy to read_._" _ I answered.

He stared at me for a few seconds and then raised an eyebrow, _"Okay dickhead, try me."_

I sighed and then paused, thinking about my answer before I actually spoke. It didn't take me long.

"_Well, look at you man, you're a skinny, blonde pretty boy. Your body does not compensate your attitude, so you overcompensate by scaring and intimidating people on first impressions. You're also an obnoxious, predictable and proud person with no substance. That's how I know, because you did the same to me. Now because I have seen how badass you can be, I can rightly say that I'm not impressed because there are worse out there, and I have even experienced some of them, now eat your fucking food!" _

_**Mike's POV – **_

What the fuck? The little shit has no idea what he is talking about! _No one_ speaks to me like that! I will show him predictable!

As soon as the idea formed in my head I took action. I bolted out of bed and grabbed LaRusso's wrists, while walking him into the wall. As soon as his body slammed into it, I pinned his hands above his head, holding them there with one of my hands. I used my other hand to grasp around his neck while I placed my chest against his to hold him down, in case he got any cute ideas. The little punk was going nowhere.

As I looked down at his face, I realised how short he was...how small, in comparison to me. I can't believe I let this kid beat me at karate. That mistake will _never_ happen again.

I lowered my head, so that we were eye level, and closed in on him, leaving only two inches between our faces.

"_I bet you didn't see that one coming, did you LaRusso? Don't tell me you didn't fear me all those times I tormented you before and during the tournament. Remember the cliff? Or how scared you were when we cornered you in the dojo? So though you may be right about me making tough first impressions, you can't say that they don't work. And by the way, I don't over-compensate for anything, it's just the way I am."_

For a few seconds he just stared at me, as if taking in what I was saying, then he responded with a glare. _"I haven't been scared of you since I beat your ass at the tournament, Barnes. You are no better than any of the other punks who have challenged me and lost. You're nothing." _ He said, emphasising on the word 'nothing'.

What happened next was instantaneous and it was my fault because I should have blocked his legs better. As soon as he finished speaking he used his foot to hit the area behind my knees. I leaned back, away from him, as a result, giving him the advantage of pushing his chest against mine; which he did, causing us to both fall onto the ground, with him on top of me.

Great, now I had LaRusso straddling my hips while he had also, somehow, managed to break from my hold of his hands, and now _my_ wrists were being pinned down by _him_. Sneaky little fucker...

He glared at me again as he spoke, _"Why can't you get over the fact that you can't beat me anymore? Attacking me won't do you any good." _

"_Fuck you man." _I snapped, before using my hips to roll us over. I was stronger than him, so I didn't need to use my legs or hands to have accomplished it. Now I was on top of him, he wouldn't be able to get away from me now.

By the look on his face, he hadn't expected me to be able to do that. He looked surprised, I would've smirked at the time but he had pissed me off for the last time. He needed to be taught a lesson.

I pulled my right arm back, getting ready to punch his face in, when I felt someone's hand close around my wrist, stopping me.

"_No fight." _

Who the-? Oh great, him again.

I was about to lift up my other hand to elbow Miyagi in the stomach, but then I felt an incredible pain rush through my right arm.

I turned my head to look at my wrist, the one Miyagi was holding, and saw that his thumb was pressing into an area in my wrist, which was causing it to fucking hurt like hell!

"_What the fuck did I say about touching me?" _I snapped angrily, but I could have been talking to the wall for all it was worth because he wasn't listening to me.

"_No fight."_ He repeated again. Fuck him. I got the message, he can let go now!

But he wasn't. What the fuck did he want?

I tried to pull my arm from his grasp but he didn't even budge! Just how strong could he be?

"_That won't work man, it's not what he is looking for."_ LaRusso answered. I looked down at him, remembering that I was still sitting on him.

"_And what the fuck is that suppose to mean?"_ I asked him.

"_What are you, dumb?"_

I tried jumping forward to hit him, then I felt the wave of pain through my arm again. Fuck! I was being made a fool of by these two!

"_You have to agree to his terms and then apologise."_ LaRusso continued saying.

Hell no!

"_What the fuck makes you think I am going to apologise and obey for, huh?"_

LaRusso smirked up at me, _"Because you have no choice. Remember the terms? Stay by choice or by force? This could go a lot worse for you than it already is if you keep resisting him."_

Fuck them both. Bastards will get what's coming to them once I'm better.

I gritted my teeth in anger, before calming down enough to speak. I will not continue to be made a fool of. I faced the wall ahead of me, not looking at anyone.

"_Fine. I won't hit the shithead."_ There are other ways of hurting someone anyway.

"_And?"_ LaRusso asked, sounding pleased with himself. Damn you.

I didn't respond. No way was I going to say 'sorry'! After a minute I felt the pain in my right arm again, and this time it had doubled. If my wrist wasn't being held, I would've collapsed on LaRusso from the pain. Tch, the little fucker would have enjoyed that.

"_And?"_ LaRusso repeated again.

"_Sorry." _I answered very quietly through gritted teeth. Fuck I hate this! I don't apologise to no one!

"_Hai."_ Was all Miyagi answered, before releasing my wrist. I was going to try and punch LaRusso again anyway, right that second, until I realised something. That old bastard not only hurt my arm, but he weakened the muscles in it, by feeling it I could tell I won't be able to hit someone properly for a few days. Conniving little-

"_You can get off me now."_ LaRusso said from beneath me.

Tch. _"Happily."_ I responded.

"_Then why is it taking you so long to do so?"_ He asked me smugly. What a prick.

"_You know, you're a little short by common standards to be mouthing off, LaRusso." _

"_Yet you're the one who overcompensates..."_ Not _that_ again!

"_I do not!" _

"_Do too."_

"_Fuck you man, you just talk shit. Does anyone take anything you say seriously?"_

"_Obviously you do, otherwise you wouldn't get so pissed off at me when I insult you."_

"_You call that 'insulting'? LaRusso, you wouldn't know what an insult was, if it was in front of you, naked, giving you a lap dance!"_

"_What an analogy..." _He muttered with sarcasm. He was patronising me again!

"_Its 'metaphor', you moron, and like you could do any better." _

"_I could, and its 'analogy'."_

I was about to answer back to him when our conversation was interrupted by laughter. We both looked away from each other and located the source of noise.

Miyagi was leaning against the wall, laughing his head off.

What the fuck was he laughing at?

"_Mr. Miyagi?"_ LaRusso asked with caution, I guess he too was a little discomforted at his sensei's... 'behaviour'. _"What's so funny?"_

"_You two fight like old married couple." _

"_What?"_ We both answered at the same time.

Then there was a brief pause before his words sunk in, highlighting our current situation. I was _still_ sitting on top of LaRusso, while we were bickering about meaningless crap. Oh shit...

I looked back down at LaRusso, and he looked up at me. Then two seconds later, I had jumped off of him, standing as far away from him as possible.

"_Maybe you two go to marriage counsellor to work out problems." _Miyagi continued while he laughed and walked out of the room. Crazy, old prick!

"_Your sensei is cracked man."_ I said out loud to LaRusso, as I stared at the door with caution.

"_Sometimes I wonder..."_ He muttered back, before I heard him stand up off the floor. I looked back at him. I was about to continue our 'conversation' when I was interrupted.

"_Daniel-san."_ Miyagi popped his head back into the room, humour still evident on his face.

"_What?" _LaRusso answered back cautiously.

"_Today is Friday." _Miyagi said before disappearing again. Oh great, what did _that_ mean?

"_Yeah I know."_ LaRusso sighed, before making his way towards the door.

Wait a fucking minute!

I ran to the door, beating LaRusso there before he had reached it. He looked up and glared at me.

"_Move."_ He demanded. I raised an eyebrow at him. Fuck no, I'm not moving.

"_What is so special about today?"_ I asked him, ordering him to tell me. I didn't care whether it was my business or not, you don't mention stuff in front of people if you want it kept a secret.

I expected more of a fight from him, but he gave me the answer straight away, glare and all.

"_We are going into town, to buy a few things and to stop by your apartment." _

"_We?" _

"_You and me." _ What the _fuck_? Hell no!

"_Not happening and why the fuck would we need to go to my apartment?"_

"_To collect your things and bring them here. God, you're an idiot!"_

"_Watch yourself LaRusso, because as soon as I can, it's your ass I'm coming after."_ I threatened.

LaRusso's eyebrows went up in humour and the moron looked like he was about to laugh. The hell?

"_Wow, that wasn't suggestive at all. Told you, you overcompensate..."_ He said before chuckling.

That bastard...

I raised my left hand to punch him in the stomach but I wasn't quick enough. LaRusso pushed me, just hard enough to catch me off guard and send me landing back on my bed.

"_You're going to pay for that LaRusso!" _

"_Yeah yeah, empty threats. Just hurry up and get dressed princess. We don't have all day to wait for you to put your skirt on." _

That cunt! I picked up an empty vase that was on my dresser and threw it at him, but he had dodged it and ran out of my room, chuckling to himself, the vase smashing to bits on the floor.

That little _fucker_ made my blood boil.

_**-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-**_

_**Daniel's POV – **_

Just one look from Mr. Miyagi and Mike agreed to come into town with me. Even the thought of it made me laugh. Barnes scared by Mr. Miyagi. I guess he has had a change of heart on how 'shit' he thought my sensei was.

It was obvious that his 'imprisonment' (his words not mine) in Mr. Miyagi's house was getting to him. Any idiot could see it. And he was pissed at me; we didn't speak the whole car ride here. I just couldn't believe how easy it was for us to force him to stay, which made me think about whether he was planning something. No one like Mike submits that easily without a catch, unless his pride is so high he'd rather not lose to Mr. Miyagi again? Or maybe, he really didn't have anywhere else to go? Who knew...?

The former thought made me a little nervous for two reasons. One, because Mike Barnes was just about as subtle as an explosive, and two, the idiot was as unpredictable as a wild animal. I still couldn't believe he threw that vase at me!

Now here we were at his apartment waiting for the world's slowest elevator to arrive at our floor. It was only a six floor building! Goes to show how crappy this place is.

"_We should have just taken the stairs."_ I complained, as we waited forever for the elevator to reach our floor.

"_Shut up, I hate stairs."_ Mike responded, as he tapped his foot on the floor.

Ha! Even he was getting impatient! This is where it was fun to pick on him, because he had a short temper naturally, but even shorter when he was annoyed.

"_So...-"_

"_Can it with the conversation LaRusso!"_

"_Geez, calm down man. I was just trying to break the silence, but if you want the silence then that's fine by me, I will just stop talking now."_

"_Finally." _Mike said, managing to sound relieved, angry and annoyed all in one go.

After a few more seconds, I couldn't stand the silence anymore.

"_So what I was going to say before you so rudely interrupted me was that I just can't believe how crappy an apartment you live in if you were making money from cage fighting. I mean seriously, a couple more bucks spent and we wouldn't be somewhere where the elevator takes ten years to get to the ground floor in a six floor building."_

"_My God, LaRusso! Shut up, before I do it for you!" _

His anger didn't sway me at all, neither did the crazy look he had in his eyes as he 'tried' to stare me down. I know, I know, I must seem like I have a death wish, but think of it from my point of view: I know he can't fight properly at the moment, and I have beaten him once. Even though it was one time, it was enough to put all my fears of him at ease.

He didn't intimidate me in the slightest way. In conclusion, I annoy him to insanity.

So I just shrugged him off and continued talking, my actions causing him to raise an eyebrow at me in shock, _"And it's not just the elevator man, I mean think about it, these places are filthy, who knows what you've caught by just breathing in the air. Oh look! Our elevator is here, great now I'm a hundred years old."_

"_Why, why me?"_ I heard Barnes mutter under his breath as we made our way into the elevator.

I just ignored him and smiled to myself, before continuing with my babbling which I knew was like a great headache and torture to the ears for those who couldn't keep up with my speed.

"_I just hope your room isn't any worse, because sleeping in a place like that, damn, I'm surprised your face didn't get eaten off by the parasites that could be living on your pillow-"_

"_LaRusso! Do you know why little punks like you are minorities?"_

"_Because God didn't have enough 'awesome' to go around, so we're limited edition?" _

Mike froze for a minute, disbelief etched in his face, before he regained whatever sanity he had left in him and responded.

"_Who even responds like that? No, you moron, it's because you don't have any self preservation! Your annoyance pisses people off to the brink of violence, now shut the fuck up before I throw you off the top floor!"_

"_Temper, temper."_ I said while shaking my head and grinning at him. Just before he spoke the elevator beeped and opened. _"Oh would you look at that, the elevator goes faster up than it does coming down." _

I was about to walk out of the elevator when Barnes pushed me aside, so that he could get out first. Proud bastard, he couldn't stand walking behind somebody, no, he is the one that has to always lead. Oh well, that's just another flaw of his I can pick on later.

We walked down the corridor in silence, because I was taking in everything, all the details. The green walls, the dirt covered floors, the flickering lights, yep, it was exactly the sort of place I could imagine someone like Barnes staying in, you know, the poor, criminal types.

We eventually got half way down the long corridor when I walked into something solid and warm.

"_Would you pay attention!"_ Barnes snapped at me. Oh great, I had walked into _him_.

"_Warn someone the next time you want to stop abruptly." _ I snapped back.

"_I wouldn't have to warn anyone if they would just look where the fuck they were going!" _

"_Would you stop swearing so much?"_

"_Fucking hell, LaRusso! Stop being an argumentative, defensive little bitch!"_

"_Okay enough! This isn't fucking going anywhere! Just open the door would you?" _

Barnes raised an eyebrow at me, _"Hypocrite"_, he said, before turning back around and unlocking his door.

When we walked through, I hadn't expected what I was seeing.

Mike's room didn't match the entire apartment block at all. Instead of green walls, they were white. The drapes were dark red, the furniture was wooden and everything looked... _clean._

"_You'd suck at poker, LaRusso."_ I heard Mike say from my left. I turned towards him. He was emptying his bedside table, placing it in a duffel bag that he must've kept under his bed.

"_And why is that?"_

"_Because that dumb expression on your face can't be permanent."_

"_What dumb expression?"_

Mike paused in his task to stare at me for two seconds with an incredulous look on his face before saying, _"Don't act stupid."_

I glared at him before he turned back to finishing his task. I put my hands in my pockets and walked around the room. _"I just didn't think-..."_

"_Didn't think I could afford this place?"_

I rolled my eyes. _"Uh no, obviously cage fighting got you money."_ I said. _"Just... why is this place a secret? The outside is craptastic and the inside, the rooms are nice. Who stays here?"_

Barnes didn't respond for a few seconds, then _"Criminal types, LaRusso."_

Ha, I knew it. I didn't think he would have said anything further, but he seems to be full of surprises at times, _"It isn't that great. If you look closer, it's crap."_

I stopped in front of the bathroom door and looked closely at it, huh, he was right; money _was_ spent in these rooms, but not a lot. My eyes travelled along the walls and then up towards the ceiling. He was definitely right. The ceiling was crack and a little dirty.

"_Then why do 'criminal types' stay here?" _ I asked him.

"_Because it's the last place the fuzz will look LaRusso. It's just a temporary hide out. No one stays here long enough to draw attention." _

That makes sense. It's probably one of the reasons why Barnes is agreeing to move in with us for the time being.

"_Makes sense. What are your neighbours like?"_ I asked with genuine curiosity, as I approached his window, pulled apart the drapes and looked outside.

I heard Barnes enter the bathroom, as he answered, _"They're assholes, now let's go."_

"_What, already?"_ I asked in surprise. I turned around, just as Mike walked out of the bathroom and placed the last of his items in his bag, which was only half full._ "You don't need a hand?"_

"_Do I look like I own a lot of stuff? And you should've asked me that as soon as we walked through the door. Now stop being stupid and let's go."_ Mike said, snapping at me.

Great, just when we were starting to become civilised, he ruins it with his bitchiness.

"_In a hurry?"_ I asked him sceptically, as I crossed my arms and observed his face for a reaction.

"_No." _Ha! He responded too quickly, the liar. And he looked a little nervous, just a little, you could see it hidden in his eyes, beneath the cynicism and attitude problem.

But I didn't press the matter, which I know is uncharacteristic of me, but something told me to leave it be. Though I had a faint idea of why he would want to get in and out of this place quickly.

"_Alright then. Lead the way."_ I said, nodding towards the door.

Barnes looked at me curiously before turning around, duffel bag over his shoulder, and walked out the door with me following closely behind.

We didn't speak as we waited for the elevator, nor as Mike checked out, giving his key back to some shady looking guy at the reception desk. No, our conversation started again as soon as we stepped into Mr. Miyagi's truck.

"_Anything you need from town while we're there?"_ I asked as I reversed and drove out of the car park.

"_No, just make it quick."_ Barnes answered, his voice a little snippy.

"_Aw, eager to get home already?"_ I asked him with a smirk.

"_I don't enjoy walking around public areas where people are going to stop and stare at me."_

"_Why would they do that? You're not that pretty, Barnes."_

"_Moron, I'm still bruised."_

I paused as I contemplated that. I had forgotten that he had a black eye, even though it was as plain as the nose on his face. How could I look at someone and not even register such a thing? Now that I thought back on it, after he woke up, the Mike in my memories isn't bruised, even if I happen to think about him, I picture him without them. I see him beyond his black and blue face... I wonder what that means.

"_LaRusso, did your brain finally crack in there?" _

I shook my head from the thoughts that were now lingering my mind and even dismissed Mike's insult while I refocused my attention back to driving.

"_We won't be long."_ I answered back. I could feel his eyes on me, staring at me. I put my foot on the brakes as we stopped at a red light and I looked back at him, he barely held my gaze for a second before he put his hood up and stared out the window.

Man, that guy has so many moods that I actually think he's bipolar. First he's temperamental, then bitchy and now withdrawn. And it was giving me a headache just thinking about it...

"_Watch the road!"_

Huh?

My mind just came back into focus as Mike grabbed the steering wheel and turned it towards the right.

I had nearly collided with the car on the next lane.

"_What the fuck LaRusso? Concentrate on your fucking driving before you kill us both!" _

I shook my head again, my thoughts were far too succumbing and it wasn't doing my concentration any good. Mike's words finally sunk in, and as a reflex reaction, I turned my head towards him and glared.

"_Relax, I didn't mean it."_ I told him, refocusing my attention back to the road in front of me.

"_Doesn't matter, either way, we would have spent the afternoon being scraped off the pavement if I hadn't intervened!"_

"_Great visuals you're giving me, thanks man." _I rolled my eyes, man, what a drama queen!

"_Don't be a smart ass!"_

"_Don't be melodramatic!"_

"_I'm not being melodramatic!"_

Is he ignorant to his behaviour or just plain stupid?

"_You are too, I wasn't even driving that fast and I barely would have knocked the car."_

"_God, you are an idiot! The car was coming towards you, not travelling in the same direction!"_

I halted any further release of anger as I processed what he just said, and quite plainly, I came out with nothing.

"_...What?"_

"_You went on the opposite lane."_

I paused as I considered that. I was so far gone in my previous thoughts that I hadn't even noticed I was driving on the wrong lane. What was wrong with me?

"_Oh... shit, sorry man."_

"_Not good enough, LaRusso."_

I sighed as I parked in an empty space. We had arrived into town, and not a moment too soon.

"_Look, get off my case, I said I was sorry!"_ I responded with irritation. I said sorry, what more did he want? He didn't have to be a prick about it. I had gotten out of the car and was about to try and speak in a civil manner to him when he ruined it again with his big mouth.

"_Well sorry doesn't fucking cut it!"_

What a bastard! He just snapped the last bit of patience I had for his attitude. I slammed the door of the truck and walked around to his side, just as he climbed out.

"_Would you just let it go? God, I've had enough of you!"_

I thought he would've punched me, but instead he got up in my face and continued the argument.

"_Then why did you tag along with your sensei's decision to make me stay?"_

Easy question because I already knew the answer.

"_Because it was what he wanted, alright?"_

_"Well isn't that just like you, LaRusso, doing something you don't like, just to keep others happy."_

Forget _him_ hitting _me_, I was about to raise my fist to his face when our fight got interrupted.

"_Daniel!"_Called out a masculine voice which sounded very familiar.

I turned towards the direction of the voice. My eyes landed upon a sight of bright, blonde hair, a tall, slender body and a large smile which was jogging towards me. Johnny?

I walked up to him returning the smile.

"_Hey Johnny, how are you going man? _I asked as soon as he was within hearing range.

"_Good, LaRusso."_ Johnny answered as he came to a halt, sounding a little out of breath from running.

"_Where did you come from?"_ I asked, I hadn't seen Johnny in town for a long time.

"_Just from over there."_ He pointed to a cafe across the street. _"What are you doing here?"_

"_Getting supplies, and showing this idiot a good time_." I responded, indicating to Mike who had appeared by my side.

Johnny looked to my right, and looked at Mike as if he had just realised he was there.

"_Oh, hi, I'm Johnny."_

Mike just looked at him, a hint of a glare in his eyes. He was obviously still pissed at me and probably pissed at Johnny for diffusing the argument.

"_Johnny, ignore the guy who smells like over-compensation, he is like that to everyone. His name is Mike, Mike Barnes."_ I said, trying to keep a straight face from my insult. I often found myself to be hilarious.

Johnny grinned at my insult, then just nodded at Mike and turned his eyes back to me. _"What are you doing these days LaRusso? Bobby thought he would see you in college, but you weren't there for orientation."_

"_No man, I opened a bonsai store with Mr. Miyagi. College isn't for me right now, maybe next year. What about you?"_

Johnny smiled at me, and pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket.

"_I'm opening my own dojo."_

Wow, I wasn't expecting _that_. Good on him.

"_No way man? That's great! Congratulations."_

"_Thanks. After Kreese, there are no other decent places around here, so I thought I'd teach."_

"_Kreese? You knew Kreese?"_ Mike asked with genuine interest, surprising Johnny and I with his civility.

"_He was my sensei. Why did you?"_ Johnny asked, now paying attention to Mike due to his sparked curiosity.

I felt Mike tense. He didn't respond. So I did for him.

"_Yeah, just through a friend. Not well enough to know how much of a prick he was." _

_I noticed Mike let out a small breath after hearing my response. I wonder why?_

Johnny believed my lie. _"I hear you."_

"_Well good luck man, we gotta get going, I have to give Miss Angst here her happy pills."_

Johnny let out a small laugh and nodded, _"See you around Daniel"_, before turning around and leaving.

_**Mike's POV - **_

Thank God blondie fucked off. His over happy smile was irritating, though by the looks of LaRusso, he seemed to enjoy it.

"_Did you beat that guy as well?"_ I asked LaRusso as we continued walking again. If it's the Johnny I'm thinking about, Kreese's number one student, then I already knew what the answer would be.

"_Why do you find that hard to believe? I beat you..."_ He started to answer before I snapped. I pinned him against the wall of a building we were passing.

"_Stop saying that!"_ I growled, though it had no affect on LaRusso, he didn't even look scared, he use to be scared of me, not anymore. Not after... beating me.

"_Start accepting it. I beat you, now _I_ own _you_, Mike." _

I frowned from the subtle hint of Déjà Vu. He repeated the exact words I had said to him before he beat me.

I paused for a few seconds, but it was obviously a moment too long for LaRusso because he must have thought I was upset or some other stupid reason like that.

"_It's okay to lose to an opponent, but you must not lose to fear." _He said.

"_Don't give me that Japanese philosophical, preaching shit, LaRusso." _

"_Man I'm just saying it to you, what you choose to listen to is up to____you. I'm going now."___

No one walks away from me!

"_No, I'm leaving this conversation."_ I told him.

LaRusso rolled his eyes and then glared at me.

"_Then leave!"_

"_Fine I will!" _

I let go of him roughly and walked off. I put my hood back up on my head and stepped onto the road, crossing it without really looking at it.

That's when I heard LaRusso yelling, he was calling me, fuck him.

"_Mike!" _

I continued ignoring him and kept walking, almost making it to the other side of the road when the next thing I knew I was being pushed to the ground, I heard tyres screech and someone call out _"Daniel!"_.

My palms took most of the impact as I landed on them, then my knees, which I could feel were scraped and bleeding.

The bastard will pay for this.

I got up and turned around, expecting to see LaRusso standing there so I could hit him. Instead I see Johnny running towards me, but looking at my feet. I frowned and followed his gaze. LaRusso was unconscious on the ground; hit by a car that he pushed me out of the way from.

And I had wanted to hit him... I looked up at the car; the front screen had a small crack on it. Fuck, he had hit his head...

"_LaRusso! Daniel! Wake up man! Come on! It's just a bump, get up!"_ Johnny was trying to shake him awake while a small crowd gathered around, and car horns were beeping each other from the sudden stop to traffic.

"_Hey asshole, help me will you?"_ Johnny said to me, looking up.

I looked back down at LaRusso's unconscious form. Shit, this was _my_ fault. I knew that, I wasn't the stupid type to deny it. I'd never hurt anyone like _this_ before. This was _different_.

Wait a minute, am I concerned for his well being now? I haven't cared about anyone in ages... Not someone innocent...had I just referred to him as innocent? What the fuck is wrong with me?

"_Barnes!"_ Johnny said with force and a glare. I snapped out of it and bent down beside Johnny.

"_LaRusso, wake up! Fuck, come on, you've copped a beating worse than this." _I said to the unconscious form, as I shook him gently by the shoulder.

His forehead was badly grazed, blood pouring out onto the side of his face. _Blood_. No matter what I ever did to anyone, I never hurt someone in a way which caused severe external bleeding. That was why I liked using Karate to hurt people when I had to. It was less messy, less... inhumane, in my opinion.

"_Boys give me some space, I'm a nurse."_ Said a male voice from behind Johnny. The idiot driving the car that hit LaRusso got out. Big mistake.

I stood up, _"Well isn't that convenient?" _I snarled at him. _"You're a nurse, yet you were dumb enough to not watch the road and run him over."_

The guy ignored me and kneeled beside LaRusso, checking him over. After that everything seemed to blur together, as guilt (which was incredibly foreign to me so it hit me in full force) overcame all my senses.

Someone in the crowd had used a payphone to call an ambulance which had arrived within minutes and taken LaRusso away. I had somehow ended up driving Miyagi's truck, with Johnny in the passenger seat, to the hospital.

It was while we were sitting in the waiting room, after a nurse had called Miyagi, that I regained a hold of reality again, all thanks to Johnny who broke the silence.

"_Before, you said to Daniel that he had 'copped a worse beating'. Did he tell you about us?"_ Johnny asked me.

Us?

"_What?"_ I asked.

"_My friends and I, we use to pick on LaRusso back in the day."_ Johnny said, before looking down, trying to hide the shame in his eyes, either that or my glare (which must have appeared on my face as some type of weird reflex reaction) had made him feel bad.

"_No, I was talking about me."_ I answered back without shame, it was okay for _me_ to hit LaRusso... wait, what?

Johnny's eyebrows rose up in surprise.

"_You too? Man everyone loves this kid as a punching bag." _

"_Yeah." _

"_Weird how the people who use to beat him up make up the majority of his friends." _Johnny continued.

Friend?

"_I'm not his friend."_ I said quickly, almost defensively. Friend did not sound right.

Johnny rose a single eyebrow in question, _"Well what are you then?"_

I looked down avoiding his questioning gaze.

I didn't know. You can't put a label on the weird relationship LaRusso and I have. We hate each other, fight, and live in the same house. What did anyone call _that_?Enemies? No, too extreme. I didn't know, I shouldn't have fucking said anything because now I had opened up a particular chain of thought which was giving me a headache.

I was saved the extra head fuck of having to think of an answer for Johnny as LaRusso's sensei walked through the door; and to put it lightly, he looked like hell. What had the stupid, hospital bastards told him?

Miyagi walked up to us and to my surprise, took a hold of my chin, angled my face upwards and examined my face. I didn't move. I didn't know what to do. The normal reflex action for me to back away from human contact was currently disabled.

He let go after looking at me for a few seconds, and then greeted Johnny, before walking up to the reception desk and started asking the nurse a few questions.

"_It must be nice having family to look out for you."_ Johnny said after a few minutes.

What was he on about?

"_What?"_ I asked him impatiently, thank God LaRusso didn't speak like that, all encrypted and shit.

"_Mr. Miyagi."_ Johnny answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

I almost laughed, almost. Instead I shook my head. _"He's not my family."_ I answered back, _"More like my warden."_ I muttered to myself.

"_Could have fooled me."_ Johnny said, in a tone that didn't make me second guess who was the school bully and leader of his group.

"_Alright dipshit, how do you figure?"_ I snapped at him.

Johnny just grinned at my response before answering, _"Well if that little moment before wasn't enough indication for you, then LaRusso is right, you are an idiot."_

Huh, you know what? I like this kid, he's a cocky smartass; the type I would have befriended in Highschool.

Still doesn't make me overlook the fact that his observation skills are shit.

"_What, the chin grabbing thing?"_ I asked. God knows why he did _that_.

"_He was checking to see if you were hurt." _Johnny said, _"Anymore than you already are."_ He added as an afterthought, after looking at my black eye.

Excuse me? I did not even allow myself to continue on that new chain of thought, instead I asked Johnny something which caught my attention before.

"_What did you mean 'it must be nice'?"_ I asked him.

Johnny had the decency to look a little embarrassed before shrugging and averting his face from my gaze. _"My family are too proper to show... concern."_

I raised both eyebrows in surprise at the fact that Johnny shared that piece of information with a stranger.

I know I'm a prick, but I wasn't going to further my questioning on that particular issue, probably because I could relate to it.

"_Daniel LaRusso's family?"_ Called out a feminine voice. Johnny and I looked up, our eyes landing on Daniel's doctor, who was standing by the entrance to the wards.

"_Hai."_ Said Miyagi, walking towards the doctor from the reception desk.

I stood up as well, Johnny remained seated, so I lightly kicked his leg as an indication to follow us.

We approached the doctor and walked with her through the ward, towards LaRusso's bed.

"_Besides a small head trauma, abrasions and a mild case of internal bleeding, he will be fine. He hasn't woken up yet, but he isn't in a coma. And be aware that when he does wake up he will be heavily concussed, so please bear with him."_

I let out a small breath I didn't know I was holding, and I hoped no one else noticed.

Miyagi looked like his mind was elsewhere as he was still processing the information he had just been told. So Johnny answered the doctor.

"_When can he go home?"_ He asked.

"_Well, he was very lucky that the car was travelling slow, though his condition could have been much worse than what it is. I would prefer he stay overnight just so we can monitor him, but he is free to leave after he wakes up."_

"_Thank you."_ Miyagi answered, finally being able to speak.

The doctor nodded, and indicated with her arm what must have been Daniel's room. _"He's just through here."_

"_Wait."_ I said, before she could walk off. _"What about the nurse who hit him? What is going to happen to him?"_ I asked.

"_I don't know, he didn't work for this hospital, the police will let you know in due time."_ She said with a little sympathy before walking off.

I hesitantly followed Miyagi and Johnny though the door, not knowing what to expect on the other side.

LaRusso didn't look as bad as I thought he would. His head was bandaged up, he had a few scrapes on his arms, but other than that he looked okay.

Miyagi made it to him first and picked up his hand, holding it the whole time.

Johnny and I sat down beside the bed and just watched LaRusso, waiting for any signs of him waking up.

About half an hour in, the silence was broken by a tired groan. LaRusso was showing signs of consciousness.

"_Mr. Miyagi?"_ He questioned as his eyes fluttered open, landing on his sensei standing right beside him, before closing them again.

"_Hai."_

"_Where am I?" LaRusso asked; his voice hoarse and quiet._

"_In hospital. You got hit by car." Miyagi answered; his face full of concern and something else that can only be seen in the face of a parent. _

"_My head feels huge." He whispered._

"_Isn't that normal for you, LaRusso?" _

LaRusso chuckled, _"Johnny, you're here too man? Bit me." _

Johnny smiled at him, before looking over at me, nudging me with his elbow to say something. I glared at him before I stood up beside Miyagi.

"_And to think, this could have been me."_ I said, taking in the sight of him again, not knowing what else to say.

"_Yeah, well, you're welcome."_ LaRusso answered back, sounding as if he was falling back asleep.

"_You idiot, why didn't you just pull me along?"_ I asked him with no indication of negativity in my voice, just plain curiosity.

"_I'm not strong enough to do that, pushing you was easier."_ He answered back.

"_Why even bother?"_ It was the main question that was bugging me and I really had to know the answer because no one had ever done that for me before. No one.

"_I don't know, because I like you, maybe." _He whispered.

Maybe I was reading too much into it, but that answer was probably the worst thing he could have said. I was a little embarrassed (and I don't get embarrassed easily) for his sake, for saying something like that to me, when two others were listening in.

"_Which means what, exactly?"_ I asked him, trying to keep my voice level and unperturbed.

LaRusso shrugged, before falling back to sleep.

Fucking great! So he stays awake for everyone else and falls asleep during crucial moments. I'm going to give him shit for this later.

I could feel Johnny staring at me; I just ignored him and sat back down. I've dealt with enough already for one day.

Just then, the same nurse from the reception desk entered the room, breaking the silence.

"_How is he, has he woken up yet?"_ She asked while checking LaRusso's vitals.

"_Yeah, he has."_ Johnny answered.

Just as she turned around the nurse's eyes landed on me, she took in my black eye and then directed her next words to Miyagi.

"_It looks like you have your hands full, sir. Your boys seem to attract trouble."_ The nurse commented with a chuckle.

I wasn't even going to correct her, I couldn't be fucked, I just glared at her before looking back to the floor.

"_Hai, my sons are pain in ass." _

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**Hope you liked this chapter. Please review and let me know what you think! :)**


	4. Detour

**Hi everyone, here is Chapter 4 for 'Never Say Never'. I just wanted to once again apologise for the delay in updating. Not only was this year my final year of studies, but in the last 6 months I lost two very important members of my family. It has been a hard year, but hopefully 2012 will be a lot easier. Thank you for being patient and thank you for the messages asking how the story writing is going, I appreciate it. Hope you enjoy this. And thank you to everybody who reviewed the last chapter!**

**Chapter Four: Detour**

_**-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-**_

_**Mike's POV – **_

"_Try again." _

"_I am trying."_ I snapped at him, before closing my eyes again.

It wouldn't work, I kept losing focus. I couldn't meditate to save my fucking life.

Since we got back from the hospital two days ago, LaRusso's sensei has been on my case, forcing me to learn his style of karate. Guess what he has me doing? Fucking meditation of all things! Just sit there, close your eyes and breathe. Well it was easier fucking said than done.

"_Try again." _He said to me for what felt like the hundredth time that day.

"_Don't think I won't hit you."_ I said to him through gritted teeth.

"_We deal with bad attitude later, now you meditate."_

Something inside me snapped. I stood up abruptly, _"Look I can't just sit here doing nothing! This meditation shit is a joke!"_

He didn't react to my outburst. He just sat there, eyes closed, _meditating_.

"_Sitting still and doing nothing are two different things."_

Man this stubborn ass was impossible!

"_If you so good at karate, you should be able to do this. Try again."_

I let out a groan of annoyance and sat back down, glaring at Miyagi before closing my eyes again, the clever prick knew exactly which buttons to push.

I didn't really have much of a choice here. If I didn't do this, he would hurt me. Seriously, the look in his eyes when he first asked me to try this... all I'm saying is that guy is capable of inflicting some serious pain.

You are probably wondering why I didn't just up and leave. Think about this from my point of view, I had nowhere else to go, yet. What little money I had saved up from cage fighting wouldn't take me to where I wanted to go. I may be abrupt but I'm not stupid, staying here and putting up with these assholes was the best thing for me financially. I may be a hot head, but I also use my brain.

I couldn't cage fight again. Those wankers who beat me up would be hanging around, I wasn't afraid of a challenge, but in no way am I going to take on the Mafia. Those bastards fight dirty, with bullets when they kill, not fists. I got out lucky.

Plus if I tried cage fighting right now I'd get my ass kicked, I was still healing from the beat down I got a few days back. It would be another few more days of healing before I was completely myself again.

"_Stop thinking and focus."_ Miyagi said to me, interrupting my thoughts.

"_How do you know I'm not focusing?" _I asked abruptly.

"_Breathing is wrong." _

Tch...

I let out a deep breath... for a moment... I was thinking of nothing, I was just breathing, listening to the breeze, feeling the air around me, until my memories re-introduced my mind to a room of shattered glass.

Then to loud noises, yelling, darkness, streets, bruises...

I saw red...

"_Look, I'm not doing this!"_ I yelled as I stood up, towering over his still form, _"This is stupid. Just leave me the fuck alone."_

I stormed off into my room; not waiting for a response which I'm sure wasn't going to come anyway. I walked into my room and slammed the door shut hard, well as hard as you could slam a Japanese sliding door. I sat on my bed placing my head in my hands and stared at the floor through my fingers... it didn't help.

I closed my eyes and breathed in before shaking my head. As soon as I opened my eyes I hit the first thing I saw, which happened to be my nightstand.

My mind kept flashing back to dark memories and I shook my head again, hoping the memories would somehow fall out. As I did this I felt something wet on my hands, I looked down and saw a drop of water. Where the fuck did that come from?

I looked up to the ceiling, expecting to see a hole, or a leaking air conditioner or anything, anything to lie to myself and ignore the fact that I had shed a tear. I haven't cried in years, I stayed strong, and then what happens? I let some old guy lower my guard enough for the memories to break free. Fuck my life.

I looked back down at my hand and groaned. I had cut my fucking knuckles open from punching the nightstand... another thing that LaRusso will pester me about when he sees them. That is when he eventually gets _out_ of bed.

By the way, do you want to know why _else_ I couldn't just up and leave?...

"_Daniel-san?"_ I heard Miyagi call out, standing in front of the door to LaRusso's room.

...because the Prima-Donna just _had _to go and save my life, so now, I owe the prick.

_**Daniel's POV - **_

"_LaRusso."_

Strong hands shoved me against the wall, except this time, instead of me preparing myself to fight; I welcomed the hard kiss which was given to me. My hands were then slammed above my head, and my 'attacker's' free hand disappeared under my shirt...

"_LaRusso."_

I pulled back, breaking the kiss with the remainder of my will power to see my lover's face-...

"_LaRusso!"_

I bolted upright out of bed, my heartbeat erratic and my breathing out of control (I couldn't tell if it was from being startled or as a result of my dream), to look across the room where my door was, I groaned in annoyance at the sight my eyes landed on.

"_You're a fucking idiot, go away."_ I said before pulling up the blanket further and rolling over.

"_The old man wants you up."_ Barnes' said in retaliation.

"_Well, tell him_ he_ can come and wake me."_ I know I sound like I'm taking a leaf out of Barnes' book, but I'm not a morning person when I don't have to be anywhere (it's Saturday), so I am entitled to extra sleep.

"_He already tried dipshit."_

"_So he figured you would do a better job?"_

"_Obviously worked, didn't it?"_

I groaned again, _"Just go away."_

"_I don't think so,"_ I could almost hear something close to humour in his voice...he was enjoying my torment!

"_Barnes, fuck off! I want to sleep more."_

"_You have been in here for two fucking days, now get your ass out of bed and get dressed."_

"_Come on man, I got hit by a car!" _I snapped, yeah I went there...

"_And I got tortured and left for dead by mobsters and was still forced to endure your company in town after two days, now...get-the-fuck-out-of-bed!" _He snapped back, he went there too...

"_Alright, relax, I'm getting up..."_

"_Hn, just consider it pay back for your rude awakening a few days ago."_

I huffed in annoyance, _"You gotta learn to let that shit go."_

Upon hearing my words Barnes' face grew this creepy/predatory type of smirk. He walked towards me slowly, and it was all I could do but stare back, noticing the 'crazy' glint that had developed in his eyes... eep I knew he was nuts!

It felt like forever when he had finally reached me, stopping by the side of my bed, he crouched down so that we were eye level and held my gaze as he spoke.

"_If there is one thing that you will learn and remember about me, LaRusso, it is that I never 'let shit go', I enjoy revenge way too much."_

I gulped, believing every word, _"Explains why you don't have many friends Barnsie"._

Instead of getting angry at my remark and the fact that I called him 'Barnsie', Mike responded by placing a single, light slap to my cheek.

"_Exactly",_ he said, before pulling the sheet that was covering me off my bed, and throwing it to the floor. His face lost the smirk and once again became blank as he stood up. _"Now hurry up and get out of bed, next time I come in, I won't be asking."_ With that he turned around and left.

I glared after him. I hated the air of dominance he exerted, because it was hard to ignore it...hmph, uppity bastard.

I was about to lie back down and go to sleep, Mike's threats be damned, until I heard raised voices coming from outside, okay, mostly I heard Barnsie's voice coming from outside, he was obviously yelling at Mr. Miyagi, but for what reason, I wasn't sure.

I was just about to climb out of bed when I heard my door open, I looked up and let out a sigh of relief, it was just Mr. Miyagi, I had thought Barnsie was going to come back in and vent his anger on me...again.

"_Daniel-san."_ Mr. Miyagi stated. 

Of course my relief was short lived.

"_Hai?"_ I asked cautiously, I knew that tone, whatever he was going to say next I wasn't guaranteed to like.

"_Daniel-san, you feeling better?"_

"_Yes." Oh dear..._

"_Good, you can teach"._

My eyes widened. I didn't need him to clarify anything because I knew for a fact that since I was released from hospital, Mike has been put through some of Mr. Miyagi's 'alternative' methods of karate training.

"_What? But Mr. Miyagi, come on, is that actually a good idea? We will end up killing each other...!"_

Mr. Miyagi just gave me a stern look, so I corrected myself.

"_Okay, okay, sorry, I will end up killing him, better?"_

"_Tch, you two as bad as each other, start today."_ Mr Miyagi nodded and then turned to leave.

"_Wait! What do I teach him? And how?" _I asked defeated, knowing I was never going to win this argument.

"_You think of something."_

Mr. Miyagi left, closing the door behind him.

I was completely lost, for those few seconds, until he called out, _"Patience and peace."_

'Patience and peace', huh? I grinned to myself because of the idea that came to my mind in connection with those two words. I knew exactly what kind of first task will make Mike 'peaceful'.

I felt an evil grin begin to grow on my face, but my happy moment was ruined when I felt a hot-headed presence invade my room.

Mike was standing at the door, staring at me with his arms crossed, he looked less than pleased, this just improved my mood.

"_Don't think for one second I agree to this, LaRusso."_ He said with the air of someone trying to show indifference, but I knew deep down he hated the idea of me being his temporary 'sensei'.

I smirked at him, something I rarely use to do, it's like the bastard brings out the worst in me (or the best depending on how you look at things).

"_I know you don't Barnes"_

He frowned lowering his eyelids in a half glare... _"Then what are you smiling about?"_

"_Anything that pisses you off brings me joy."_

"_Pfft, whatever, hurry up and get out of bed. You're burning sunlight."_

"_You sound like my mother." _I retorted.

"_Now! I want the geriatric off my back!"_ He snapped.

"_Okay, relax, I'm getting up."_

Barnes just glared at me and continued to stand there.

I raised my eyebrow at him. _"A little privacy, that too much to ask?"_

That seemed to catch him off guard, as if he didn't actually realise what he was doing, his eyes opened wide in shock for a second, then the glare returned comfortably back onto his face where it belonged.

"_Fuck off."_ He snapped before walking out.

"_As always, it's been a pleasure!"_ I called out, knowing he heard me.

Geez his bipolar mood swings were giving me a headache.

My eyes widened and I let out an annoyed huff. Great! His abrupt awakening made me forget my dream! Damn it...

_**-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-**_

_**Daniel's POV – **_

I felt like a moron. An honest to God...what was it that my old neighbour use to say...oh yes, wanker, an honest to God wanker. No wanker more or less describes Barnsie and his drama queen ways. I felt like someone who was blindfolded and asked to find their way back to Reseda. Or, no, that analogy is terrible...

"_Idiot, are we going to actually do anything or is this some hippie technique of 'karate training'?"_

I was snapped out of my thoughts, as usual, by rude behaviour and stupid questions. My eyes focused on Barnes who was standing in front of me on the Japanese, wooden walk-way that Mr. Miyagi made me sand a few years ago.

This was going to be a hell of a long day, I thought, before I let out a sigh.

"_Just give me a second would you?"_

Barnes smirked at me, _"You don't know what you're doing do you?"_

I glared at him,_ "Actually I do, I'm just working out a way of teaching you that won't confuse that big, idiotic, empty brain of yours."_

Barnes returned my glare, _"I thought I was the bastard, according to you, and that you were the idiot."_

"_Who said that was even something that we mutually decided on?"_ I asked, exasperated.

"_Our past track record of conversations indicate it, you moron."_ He answered back, adding emphasis to the word 'moron'.

"_Only you would equate our banter as conversational."_

"_Don't use big words, LaRusso!"_

"_Why, your brain not catching on?"_

"_No it just doesn't suit you."_

"_You're such a snob!"_

He was about to retaliate as usual, no surprise there, when I held my hand up to silence him.

"_Just... shut up! And sit down, I've figured out how to approach this."_ I said, hoping he would comply.

_**Mike's POV – **_

I almost said no, almost, until I took in his bruised face and that fact that he was still moving around so gingerly. Damn it, my guilt, its' never bothered me before, but then again, no has ever done what LaRusso has done for me before either. You know, that self-sacrifice shit.

Even though I am a complete asshole, bastard, jerk, these words plus their synonyms and more (and I enjoyed being all these things, I liked being the karate 'bad boy'), I wasn't completely heartless. Or maybe I was and I just didn't like the fact that I owed anyone anything. People owe me for favours, not the other way round.

I bit my bottom lip to stop my retort, and then complied, mimicking LaRusso by sitting cross-legged in front of him.

"_Okay." _Was all he said, as he stared I raised my eyebrow at him, waiting for him to continue.

"_So what does karate mean to you?"_ He asked, almost sheepishly. My left eye twitched.

"_What? You seriously want to 'talk'?"_ I asked in disbelief and slight disgust.

"_Yes."_ He answered, all uncertainty vanishing. Huh it seems he gains valor from conflict, or my distress.

"_Fuck no." _

"_You have to."_

"_Why?"_

"_Because you were too stubborn at the meditating idea. So instead we are going to talk."_

"_This is stupid."_

"_Just shut up and do it."_

"_Stop ordering me around like that."_

"_What, you want me to say it 'nicely'?" _Is he mocking me? "_Never knew you were so sensitive Barnsie." _He's mocking me!

"_I will beat you." _

"_There ya go, that's the Barnsie I know and love!"_

"_What?" _The hell is he on about?

He paused, realising what he said. _"It's an expression... just... shut up, you know what I mean."_

My turn to mock, _"Or maybe I don't."_

"_I will not elaborate; now answer my previous fucking question!"_

There was a long pause.

"_Well?"_ He pushed.

"_I don't know how to fucking answer that dumb question of yours." _What the hell was I meant to say? I never really thought about my reasons for choosing karate of all things to do, or maybe I did, but never in that deeply girly sense that LaRusso was talking about.

"_Sheesh just how restricting is that brain of yours?"_

"_Well why don't you fucking answer as an example!"_ I snapped, irritated to the point of wanting to get away from this stupid conversation, but not before slugging LaRusso one in the face for being an annoying, little-...

"_Do you want the full version or the short of it?"_ He asked, well go figure, he was actually going to do it.

"_Short version."_ I muttered, the sooner we get this over with the better.

"_Mr. Miyagi started teaching me karate about two years ago, I needed to learn for self defence, and surprisingly I became very good at it."_ He shrugged at his last statement.

My curiosity peaked after a long pause,_ "Wait a minute, that's it? That's all you're going to share?"_

"_You asked for the short version."_ He retaliated, obviously annoyed.

I smirked, _"That was more like a blurb."_

"'_Blurb' huh? I didn't know you knew that word."_

"_Don't be a smart ass! Now tell me the fucking story. You said you 'needed' to learn..."_

He waited, expecting me to elaborate, but I didn't, _"Yeah, so?"_

"_Why did you 'need' to learn?" _I already knew a part of the reason, his 'friend' or whatever, blondie... Johnny, already said that he use to attack LaRusso, but I wanted to hear it from LaRusso. Also, I wanted to see if his reasons were similar to mine.

"_Why do you care anyway? Didn't Kreese or Silver explain anything to you?"_

"_No."_ I snapped.

"_Don't get defensive, it was just a question."_

"_Well they fucking didn't!"_

"_Why are you getting angry?"_

"_Because you're avoiding the subject!"_

"_So are you, you hypocrite!"_

He was right, I was getting riled up and deep down I knew why, but I didn't want to say it, nor dwell on it.

"_Is it because they didn't explain shit to you? They just offered you a nice house, a bunch of losers for friends, and lots of money? Are you feeling... guilty Barnes?"_

"_If you don't shut the fuck up, I will hit you!"_ I snarled at him.

"_We are getting nowhere, and I've had enough of arguing with you."_ He let out a sigh, gently rubbing the area on his forehead which held the most damage from the accident. For some reason seeing this settled me down some.

"_Then stop being a stubborn ass and answer the question."_ I said.

"_When I first moved to Reseda I was at the beach with my neighbour and his friends, I saw this girl there, Ali her name was, blonde, pretty, she really caught my eye."_

I snorted.

"_What?"_

"_There is always some chick involved in one of these stories."_

"_Yeah no kidding. Anyway, we were all having a good time when a group of guys on dirt bikes decided to crash the party. The ring leader, who was Ally's ex, started messing around with her, making her angry. I tried to stop it-..."_

"_And you got your ass kicked?"_ I asked, enjoying the story as soon as I found out LaRusso got his ass handed to him...again.

LaRusso obviously heard the mirth in my voice because he glared at me, _"Yes."_

"_Man you're weak, what kind of wannabe hero loses to someone he challenges?"_

"_You mean besides you? The kind of 'wannabe hero' who goes up against a karate student plus all his friends."_

"_Fuck off, and he couldn't have been that strong."_

"_He was a black belt and an ass who used karate for all the wrong reasons, just like you."_

I snorted, _"Who was this kid?"_ I asked with a sense of pride, _"I want to meet him."_

"_You already have, it was Johnny."_

I should have guessed that that particular incident had involved Johnny. I didn't know what to say, so I didn't say anything.

"_So after that incident, Johnny and his friends kept targeting me. Then on Halloween I decided to pull a prank on them, they chased me to my apartment, beat me and then Mr. Miyagi saved me, after defending himself very well of course."_

"_That old coot beat a group of black belts?"_

LaRusso gave me this look, the type of look I've gotten before when, on a rare occasion, I've asked a stupid question.

"_Well let me think, he beat an ex army nut-job and his friend who were both black belts plus their little 'Igor' who was also an apparent karate black belt bad-ass, so yes, I would confidently think that there is no one he can't defeat."_

I frowned.

"_Are you fucking indirectly mocking me again?" _ I snapped, who was he talking about?

He just stared at me deadpanned, _"No."_ He answered.

Yeah right,_ "Tch, whatever, continue would you."_

"_After I woke, I asked Mr. Miyagi to teach me karate so that I could fight back. He said that karate was and is designed for self defence, not for attacking, so he refused. We then mutually agreed to talk to Kreese at Cobra Kai; obviously he declined any civil way of solving the matter, and told us that if I wasn't ready to fight his students by the upcoming karate tournament, that it would be 'open season' for Mr. Miyagi and I. I was taught, I was challenged at the tournament, and then I won. End of story."_

"_You learn karate to fight."_

"_No, I learn karate so that I don't have to fight, that's what it means to me."_

There was another long pause, _"That is the dumbest fucking answer ever."_

"_You swear way too much to be considered healthy."_ He said in obvious distaste, ignoring the fact that I just insulted his precious answer.

"_Shut it, so you learned how to fight so that you didn't have to fight?"_

"_Yes!" _He huffed, obviously annoyed.

"_That doesn't make any sense!"_ He was about to open his mouth, probably to take another jab at my 'low' intelligence, but I stopped him, _"And no, not because I have a low brain capacity..."_ His mouth closed at that, _"...but because you're actions contradict your reasons!"_

"_I can't explain it to you when you're obviously so against the idea of 'peace', but you will eventually understand."_

"_Doubt it."_

"_What's your reason, then?"_

"_I learned a style of fighting so that I could fight! See, that makes perfect sense!"_

"_Whatever!" _He snapped at me, ending the argument, _"Now that we have established some type of 'ground' to work on we can continue. You chose karate in order to fight, so we have to change that, we have to get you to choose to learn and use karate in the future, in order to keep the peace."_

I grimaced at the very idea, _"Good luck with that, you're going to need it."_ I said vehemently.

"_I don't need luck, at the end you're going to want to do it for yourself."_

"_Why would I ever choose not to fight?"_ I asked in bewilderment.

He shrugged, _"Your situation could be compromised."_

"_Big words again, LaRusso."_ I said in a warning tone.

"_You might be stuck in a situation where fighting won't help."_ He elaborated.

"_Tch, yeah right."_

"_Ok Barnsie, up you get."_ He said in an overly bright tone, as he stood up.

"_Why?"_

"_Lesson number one: patience comes from caring for something vulnerable."_

"_Oh God, you're not going to buy me a pet are you? I hate animals."_

"_No, something better, with a sick sense of twisted irony thrown into the mix." _He responded happily, before walking towards the back of the garden.

I followed him, with slight intrigue if I have to admit. What was he going to get me to do?

_**-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-**_

_**Daniel's POV – **_

"_This is stupid."_ Barnsie complained.

I rolled my eyes, what a child.

"_No its not, now shut up and keep snipping."_ I said from beside him while I flipped through a magazine.

"_But it looks ugly."_ If I didn't know any better, I'd say he was pouting internally, but Barnes is an asshole, and assholes _don't _pout.

"_Did you visualise it in your head?"_ I asked in a condescending tone.

"_Yes."_ He snapped back, obviously irritated.

"_Does your visual keep changing?"_

"_..." _

No response, so that's a yes then. I smiled in satisfaction at being right.

"_You need to take your time, you can't rush these things. That's why your visual keeps getting altered. Just relax, breath, and visualise. If your patient, your mind will recreate the same visual every time you revisit it."_

He let out a huff and kept snipping, _"It doesn't make it any less stupid."_

"_Well it's either this or meditating, take your pick."_

Silence.

"_Yeah, that's what I thought."_

"_Daniel-san!"_ I heard Mr. Miyagi call out after another 15 minutes of silence, with the occasional annoyed huff and _"this is fucking stupid"_ being emitted from Barnes.

"_In the garden shed!"_ I called back.

I looked up when I heard the creak of the old metal door, and Mr. Miyagi's footsteps entering the shed.

There was another silence as Mr. Miyagi took in the scene before him, _"Hm, bonsai tree, for generating patience, good job, Daniel-san."_

"_Thank you."_ I responded proudly.

"_A little ironic."_ Mr. Miyagi said, pleased, before leaving, obviously remembering the time when Barnes nearly destroyed his invaluable bonsai tree on the cliff's edge.

I laughed at that, while Barnes just huffed and cussed some more.

"_Come on Barnsie, if you're a good sport I will give you a cookie afterwards- ouch!"_

He had thrown a packet of bird seeds at my head.

_**-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-**_

_**Mike's POV – **_

"'_Stupid', 'idiot', 'shut up' and 'fucking': they are the only words in your entire vocabulary aren't they?" _

"_You forgot 'moron', LaRusso." _I responded, with an almost bored tone, as I hit the pad in LaRusso's hand.

His eye twitched at that, it was almost comical.

After I was resorted to an entire fucking afternoon of trimming bonsai leaves until I got it right (stupid little trees) the sun was finally setting on this God forsaken day. The old coot had an elsewhere to be (visiting some Japanese family who lived on the other side of the city) and the Prima-Donna finally decided to resort to some actual karate lessons.

Which was why I was bored because LaRusso had to have full control (I could only hit the pads when he indicated so) and this lesson was meant to display and put into use the apparent 'peace' that his _precious_ bonsai trees were meant to stimulate. Again, stupid little trees...

"_So you're reason for choosing to learn karate..." _LaRusso started to say, before holding up the pad.

"_What about it?"_ I asked, cautiously, before I hit the pad. I already didn't like where this question was going.

"_You said you wanted to learn so that you could fight."_ He held up both arms.

I didn't say anything as I punched both the pads.

"_Why did you feel the need to fight?" _LaRusso continued.

"_What?"_ I asked, defensively. I really didn't like where this was going.

"_Well, I told you I had to protect myself. But you never told me your reasons. Why did you grow up wanting to fight so much? What made you?"_

Punch.

He just _had_ to go there.

Punch.

"_Barnes?"_

Punch.

He can't take a hint, can he?

Punch.

"_Barnes!"_

"_Let it go, LaRusso..."_

"_Come on, it can't be that bad! You can tell me."_

"_Yes it can be, and no, I don't want to tell you anything because there is nothing to tell!"_

My punching got so fierce that he had to pull the gloves away so that I would stop, it didn't calm my anger though.

"_It's not good keeping things bottled in."_ He gave me this look, he pitied me. This just made my mood worse.

"_And why the fuck not?"_ I said, not really caring anymore that I wasn't denying it, "_Why the fuck can't I just ignore what I want?"_ I asked, my volume increasing per word, _"Why is it so important for you to be so touchy feely about things? Talking doesn't solve anything!"_

"_Bullshit, it does too!"_

"_Damn it!"_ I shouted at him, taking off the boxing gloves I was wearing,_ "I'm so sick of this, I've had it with you!"_

"_Then why are you staying? Why are you letting yourself?"_

"_Because I have no choice!"_

"_Says who?"_

"_Both of you!"_

"_What, the karate 'bad boy' can't face off against a kid who is smaller than he or an old man?"_

"_Fuck you LaRusso, you know I have no say in this!"_

"_No, you know what? I will tell you what I do know. I know, for certain that you are keeping yourself here, not us, nothing stops a man who is strong willed when he wants to do something. You easily take and accept our threats of control and you barely fight it. So you know what I think? I think, that the reason you aren't running away, or 'escaping' as you put it, is because for once in your life, you have a family that cares about you and you know that you would be stupid to leave because once you lose us, you won't be able to find anyone else who gives a damn about you unless there is something in it for them!"_

"_Shut up!"_ I'm not responsible if I lash out at him now, he's pushed me too far.

"_And what's worse, is that you are probably denying it! You easily deny that anybody could care about you so selflessly, well guess what Barnes? Not everybody are assholes like your parents!"_

That cut deeper than anything else.

"_I said shut up!"_

I hit him, square in the face, so hard in fact that the force slammed him into the wall behind him.

He wasn't expecting it, so he didn't have time to brace himself from the impact. He landed on the ground, groaning in pain, curled up in the foetal position. I was satisfied with his reaction and with what I did, that is until I noticed a particular detail. It wasn't his face he was cradling, it was his stomach... fuck I forgot about his damn injuries.

There was this foreign feeling that suddenly overwhelmed me, slowly creeping into my senses, I only realised afterwards that it was guilt, I was starting to feel guilty. I approached LaRusso immediately, landing on my knees beside him, now feeling incredibly stupid that I had forgotten about his injuries. The punch wasn't even worth it anymore, not if I felt like this afterwards.

'Great. Way to vent your anger Barnes, especially when LaRusso was right.'

Tch, fuck off...stupid voice...

"_LaRusso..."_ I said, not knowing what to do.

"_What?"_

"_Are...are you-...?" _Okay, are you okay? Why couldn't I say it?

"_I don't know."_ Great answer Daniel, make me feel like shit why don't you.

'Well you deserve it', a voice said somewhere in my head...

Shut up.

I ignored my thoughts and placed my hand on his shoulder, rolling him onto his back. His hands were still cradling his stomach, I frowned at this, pushing his hands away, and pulling up his shirt to observe the damage. But before I could have a closer look, he pulled his shirt back down. I nearly told him off, but when I looked up I winced internally when I saw his face, I had also cut his lip, blood was slowly seeping from it. Damn it.

I snapped myself out of my thoughts when I realised I was staring at him.

"_Don't need to be so shy."_ I said, mocking him just a little for pulling his shirt down.

"_Fuck you."_ He hissed. I frowned again; he was in a worse condition than he was letting on.

"_C'mon LaRusso."_ I said, I grabbed onto his shoulders and helped him sit in an upright position.

He groaned in pain, eyes scrunching up and his head landing on my shoulder.

"_Can you stand?"_ I asked, trying not to show too much concern and also trying to hide the fact that him resting on my shoulder was a little unnerving.

"_Only if you help me."_

I almost snorted, _"Obviously."_

I gently pushed him away from me, so that I could stand and pull him up. Only when I had pushed him away did I realise I was holding my breath. I gently released it so he wouldn't notice, but the fact that I had held my breath to begin with fucking confused me immensely. Yes I know a word like 'immensely'.

We didn't speak again until I had helped him lay down on his bed.

"_I thought you had light abrasions."_ I asked, slight irritation seeping through my voice. LaRusso noticed it.

He frowned at me, _"It wasn't a lie. These are light; only needed two or three stitches each."_

"_Each? Show me."_

"_No."_

"_Don't f-..."_, I took a deep breath, I needed to calm down, _"Don't fuck with me right now LaRusso, let me see, if your stitches have come undone your ass is going straight back to hospital."_

"_You refer to my 'ass' a lot."_ He stated, in a tone that I didn't like.

"_Shut up."_ I responded automatically, before having a closer look at the stitches on his chest.

His bruises seemed darker than they did this afternoon (every now and then I had caught a glimpse of them when his shirt rode up). However what was worse was that there were a few gashes spread out, hidden amongst his heavy bruising, and they were all bleeding.

I was about to scold him for being an idiot and not telling me that he had fucking gashes which were apparently bad enough to have to have stitches in each one; but then I looked at his face again and couldn't bring myself to do it.

"_You have pulled at them a bit, but other than that they are fine."_ I said, before pulling his shirt down, bad move, because he noticed something that, earlier today, I had said I didn't want him to pester me about.

"_Did ...hey what happened to your knuckles?" _He picked up my hand, pulling it towards his face for a closer look.

"_Nothing"_, I snapped, pulling my hand away from his grasp, I knew he would notice that eventually.

"_Yeah right."_

"_Why ask if you know I won't give you an answer you like?" _I asked him, irritated once again.

"_One day you might humour me and comply."_ Pfft, is he for real?

"_Yeah right." _ I answered again.

There was a silence after that, an awkward one, because I knew by the look on his face that he wanted to ask me something. He didn't look afraid, but instead more uncertain about my reaction.

I sighed, _"What do you want me to do?"_

If he was surprised at my ability to read him, he didn't show it, _"I'm not going to force you to do anything."_

"_You've been forcing me to do stuff all day."_

"_Not like this, I haven't."_

"_Why the fuck not?"_ I know what he wanted to ask me now. 

"_I won't force you to do something so out of character."_

I didn't say anything in retaliation, probably because that remark actually hurt me, I'm not sure why though. I've never felt so ashamed for my lack of humanity then I did right then. I almost got up and left the room but I didn't, because for once, I was going to 'humour' him.

"_Wait here."_

"_I can't really go anywhere."_

"_Shut up."_

_**Daniel's POV - **_

I watched him leave the room and then I laid my head back onto my pillow, but not before groaning again in pain from the movement.

I didn't blame him, honestly I didn't. It was my fault. I had wanted to know what could have caused Mike to take the destructive road as his lifestyle choice and by taking a guess, a good guess, I had found my answer. But that didn't leave me feeling any better about the situation, because just what kind of parents did Barnes have if it caused him to become such a defensive, angry and violent person?

And unforgiving... especially unforgiving. I wonder if he realises just how much he hates himself? I'm not usually this perceptive. I just took Barnsie's behaviour as him overcompensating for something. But it was Mr. Miyagi who had pulled me aside today, before I joined Barnes for our training, and told me to figure him out, told me that no one acts accordingly (or un-accordingly) without a reason.

I just didn't expect for him to be right, because now, I have to sympathise with him. Why? Because it was in my nature to feel sorry for everyone, no matter how much of an ass they are.

Barnes returned after 5 minutes, walking through my door holding the first aid items that my doctor had given me, 'just in case', she had said. Hmm she must've known that I was an idiot and that Barnsie was temperamental...

That thought halted in its' tracks when I realised that Barnes actually came through, knew what it was that I had wanted, and proceeded to actually help me out. Well, looks like there is hope for him yet.

"_No need to look so surprised, idiot."_ He said, while placing the items on my bedside table.

"_And here I thought I had on an excellent poker face." _

He just snorted. The corners of my lips twitched at that, against my will I might add.

I proceeded to sit up so that I could reach for the medical supplies and get started, but I was in for a second surprise that night.

No sooner had I placed my hands flat on the bed so that I could raise myself, Barnes gently shoved me back down, his hand pushing at my collar bone.

"_What are you...?"_

"_Sitting up like that won't help the bleeding, idiot."_

"_So, what you're going to do it?"_ I asked in disbelief.

He just gave me this look that clearly stated that I was an idiot.

"_But..."_

"_Shut up, if I let you do it, you will get blood all over the place, then the old coot will give me shit about it for the next few weeks." _Why was he starting to look uncomfortable?

Hmm, scratch that, I think I might know why.

"_Oh, I see, so you're only doing this so that Mr. Miyagi doesn't tell you off for letting me bleed to death, is that it?"_

"_Exactly."_

"_So it's not because you're feeling guilty that you hurt me, again I might add, and that you're actually starting to grow a little humanity in that cold, empty place where your heart should be?"_

"_Are you actually smoking anything illegal, LaRusso, because you sound like an idiot with the shit your spinning."_

"_Interesting I was going to ask you the same thing, marijuana does cause mood swings you know."_ I retorted, while sitting back up again.

"_I don't have mood swings!"_

I nodded, _"Mmm hmm, more than a pregnant woman...ouch!"_

In order to shut me up, Barnes had placed medical alcohol on a swab, lifted my shirt and had placed it on one of the stitches, all in under 3 seconds.

"_You bastard."_ I hissed at him as I laid back down, my jaw clenching at the pain.

"_You'll get over it."_ Great, Barnsie sounded pleased at my discomfort.

"_I hate you."_

"_Likewise LaRusso."_

After that we fell into a complete silence (with only the occasional hiss from me at the pain of a fresh swab) and it was then I realised just how awkward this was. My shirt was pulled up, I was lying down, and Barnes was sitting beside me on my bed, leaning over me, his hand holding a swab to one of my angered stitches, while his other hand was pressed against my arm for support.

The only time the awkwardness stopped was when he moved to change the swab, and then proceeded to clean another wound. It was the waiting period, the time when he keeps the swab on the stitches until it needs to be removed, which was making me uncomfortable.

I tried looking at anywhere but him, but it was hard not to. How often could I, or anyone, be allowed to stare at Mike Barnes, unnoticed, while he wasn't angry, irritated or guarded (or more often than not, all three)?

His face was currently neutral of emotion, but held concentration, as he cleaned my stitches. I had to look away, otherwise he would have gotten that prickling feeling that someone gets when they are being watched and then he would have noticed me staring.

Maybe I should break the silence? 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...I should break the silence.

"_H-how bad is it?"_ I asked, trying to look down at my chest, but his hand was holding my arm firmly in place.

"_The bleeding has stopped."_

I huffed, a little irritated, _"That didn't answer my question"_, I said, while looking at him.

A slight frown formed on his face, _"Well it should."_

"_You're impossible."_

"_And you're an idiot." _He said, just as he reapplied a new swab to what felt like the last of my wounds.

I bit my lip, trying not to show just how much that last swab had fucking _hurt._

Then I felt a slap at my cheek and something warm sliding down my chin, all at the same time.

"_Don't do that!"_

"_You just slapped me!"_

"_You just reopened the cut on your lip."_

"_Big deal."_ I grumbled; pride a little wounded at the fact that I just got _slapped._

"_It is a big deal because now I have something extra to clean."_

I frowned, _"You don't have to-..."_

"_Yes I do." _He snapped, in a tone that indicated the end of this particular conversation.

"_I think I prefer you better when you inflict my wounds, not treat them."_

"_Don't be an ungrateful, little bitch LaRusso."_

I tend to not think before I speak, so I bit my tongue so that I wouldn't retort. He had a point, for once, so I had to shut up.

Silence fell on us once again. Talking was no use, as every time we conversed it became hostile. We always seemed to fall into an argument or disagreement, so why the hell did I think it was a good idea to talk to him?... Oh yeah, the awkwardness...damn it...

Barnes finally pulled his hand away and for a moment I was happy, he was finally done, and then he grabbed my chin, and my happiness died, I forgot about my lip.

"_Sit up."_ He ordered, letting go of my chin after having a look at my cut lip.

I slowly raised myself up, being careful not to rupture my stitches again. I leaned against the head of my bed and waited.

Barnes placed his fingers against the side of my jaw and angled my head upwards, his face coming inches within my own as he placed his thumb on my bottom lip and pulled it down. With his other hand he used the last cotton swab to clean the cut.

While he did this I stared, again I couldn't help it. I came to notice and realise a few things now. First Barnes had_ really_ bright blue eyes, he had a few freckles scattered across his nose, just a few, and his lips were a light peach colour. Huh, he really _was _pretty; I hadn't just been saying that.

'Sure you hadn't.' Said a voice in my head that sounded scarily like Barnes himself.

I chose to ignore it, stupid voice, so I resumed in staring at him. This time, I really had no choice; he was right fucking in front of me!

I was snapped out of the moment though, because I realised, just what the hell was Barnes doing? This wasn't like him, this...gentle behaviour. My entire demeanour changed, I had tensed up (which made me realise that I allowed myself to relax in this situation).

I think he too noticed my behaviour. Barnes stopped what he was doing and looked up; he must have seen the realisation in my eyes, because he froze completely and stared at me, like a deer caught in headlights.

Great, talk about the awkwardness rising even possibly higher.

We stared at each other for a few seconds, and then Barnes all of a sudden let go of me, muttered a quick _"Done"_ under his breath and left the room.

I stared at my door for a few seconds before letting out a slow breath. What the hell just happened here? He didn't have to leave. It wasn't that awkward, unless something else other than the fact that he was actually being _nice_ to me was bothering him. I huffed and lay back down, a little pissed at Barnes for making the situation worse.

"_Great, just when we were making progress today, we are back to day one all over again."_ I said to myself, unaware at the time that Barnes was right outside my door.

_**-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-**_

**Thanks for reading and I hope you liked this chapter. :) **


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